Turner was extradited back to Kanawha County earlier this week from a Tennessee prison where he was serving time on separate drug and gun charges. His DNA linked him to the murder of Terry Clark 13 years ago. The victim’s body was found along Route 119 in Roane County in May 1999,

Investigators say Clark was strangled to death in her Charleston apartment on Memorial Day weekend. Police were able to take a DNA sample from the crime scene but the case went unsolved for years. That’s until Turner was required to submit a DNA sample as a prisoner in the Tennessee system. That sample was uploaded to the FBI database and linked to Clark’s murder.

During questioning, Turner allegedly told investigators he had committed the crime, a robbery that went wrong. But in court on Friday, he denied murdering Clark.

Turner’s case has been transferred to the next term of court. Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jim Stucky set his trial for July 22.